Ridge to bluff to creek action on Greasy Creek in the Hurricane Creek Wilderness
11/8/21
There are three wilderness areas within the Ozark National Forest proper...well, four if you include the East Fork Wilderness...but, let's not. Each of these contain impressive natural wonders. The Upper Buffalo Wilderness has the early watershed of the Buffalo River with a truly striking landscape. Richland Creek Wilderness has the upper Richland Creek watershed that holds outstanding features similar to nowhere else in Arkansas. Finally, the Hurricane Creek Wilderness contains the middle to lower watershed of Hurricane Creek. Remarkable wildness occurs here as well. It is hard to rank these three. They all have a feel of their own. I love them all. On this day I chose the Hurricane.
Entry was made at 4:55 with 48° and clear skies. Breakfast was had at the only place open theses days at 3:15 a.m. That would be Waffle Ho. Not long into the foray, a group of animals was disturbed very close to my presence. These made quite of bit of noise as they fled. The grunts and snorts were unusual for my average walks in the darkness. I took them seriously and frequently paused to scan the black void around me. There was no moon. The underbrush reacted more loudly than what one might expect from deer. My best guess would be wild porkies or maybe even a bear with cubs. Their sounds did eventually fade away as I continued on. Sunrise was to be at 6:35, and I hit the bluff line right about that time. In the mountains you can typically add thirty minutes to that. The bluffs here were broken and all had trees obscuring the view of the Greasy Creek valley...which is immense. The fall colors were quite lovely. Most of the backlit glow came from the maples that are slowly taking a foothold in the forests of the state. I followed this line north up Greasy Ass Creek until it turned westward above a large unnamed side creek.
The bluffs here were also unremarkable, so my attention turned to the base of the bluff line. This was traced until it intersected with the creek at an interesting waterfall that was essentially dry. The stream did have a light flow along some stretches. The small gorge here is very interesting as the two opposite cliff entities come together. I had been through here once before while heading downstream, but it was probably dark at the time. I partook of lunch on a slab of rock above the falls at this location. I really need to see this with a goodly flow of water. After a man style sandwich meal was ingested, I moved along. The ridge top was achieved at 11:05 with 62°, sunny skies and a breeze of freshness. This hike encompassed 5.3 miles of mostly beauty. Many areas of brambles were encountered...some potentially deadly. I evaded coyotes and wild porkies...possibly bears along the way. I was prepared to wrestle any that preferred that route...but none did.
